Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Christian Leaders Who Make Me Mad

Frank Page won a surprise victory over Ronnie Floyd for the President of the Southern Baptist Convention last week. His signature quote was, "I'm an inerrantist -- I believe in the word of God -- I'm just not mad about it,".

I get mad about smarmy, self-righteous comments like that. Comments like that make me wonder if he is not some sort of tolerance-worshipper who would "tsk tsk" Jesus Christ Himself as He drove out the money changers. Woe until clergymen who are too busy posing as PC icons of tolerance to be moved by the things that move the heart of God. There is plenty to be angry about, if you love God's word enough to risk "losing your cool" for it. To me, being cool is too much work anyway. I'll just be who I am in Him.

There is sure plenty to get angry about- such as the those "Christian" denominations that can't seem to decide if practicing homosexuals should be ordained bishops or not. Can Page not find it in his heart to get mad over people who claim the name of Christ operating in open rebellion of His word? But perhaps some are afraid of the disapproval of those who hate God and His standards. They better be worried about God's disapproval. "Beware when all men speak well of you" said Jesus.

It is not Christian to try to make "being liked by everyone" your life's goal. You have to sacrifice your integrity, your commitment to uphold God's standards for life, in order to do that. Instead, we must live our lives in such a way so that those who hate us do so without just cause. Living our lives with everyone's approval is not a Bibical option. We must settle for living our lives in such a way that the enemies we have are the right ones.

7 Comments:

Does Page's election represent the beginning of an overall shift leftward after over four decades of housecleaning by conservative Baptists who chased the liberals out of the Baptist seminaries and SBC leadership?

I hope it is just about the money. 1st Baptist of Sprindale under Ronnie Floyd donated only a tiny percentage of their funds to accounts that the overall denomination has access to. Page's chuch donated literally 70 times more in percentage terms. A lot of the smaller, poorer churches wanted the big boys to pony up more to this fund.

If that is the reason Page won, he may not be mad at anybody, but the people who elected him are- they are made at the big churches who don't give.

I get angry too, about such. However, I'm not sure that's the best measuring stick. A lot of people are angry about a lot of things. I finally decided I had to lay aside the anger and do something constructive. Anger is often looked at as a motivator. I submit it is a poor one. Much energy is used up in anger that could be used in "good works". Many people talk about "righteous indignation," but the fact is that "the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God". I get a bit weary of conservatives (of which I certainly am one) saying how much they are angry about and how little they are doing about it. It's time to lay aside anger as a motivator and let God's justice and righteousness motivate us. God does get angry. The Bible says so. That is his perogative. I'm not sure it's in our best interest.

Many people say they have to get mad before they'll do something. I feel sorry for them. They explode a time or two and then they wear out. Let's stick to the task at hand and persevere.

Yeah, I realize I'm on a rant here, but then again, maybe it will be motivating.

Ha ha! Good comment, but we should be careful about unnecessary generalizations. One temperament might suit you well and trigger the proper threshold of action in you, another temperament might be more appropriate for someone else. People are not clones.

The sin invovled here is apathy/cowardice/laziness, and- as you pointed out, not necessarily anger.

Dear Arkansas Parents,It has come to my attention that the rural Paron High/Middle school is to be closed and the children transferred by bus (buses)some four hours (a day) ride away to another community's schools. I also understand this will make it impossible for the Paron students to engage in any sports or extra-curricular activities.I have a Naval Academy graduate in my family and my grandson is in the process of applying there.Therefor, I would like to warn you that the lack of any high school sports activities or extra-curricular activities on your youngster's resume application for the Naval Academy or any of the other military colleges in the country could very well mean a rejection. That's how important such 'extras' are for being accepted in these schools. This also applies for scholarship applications for non-military colleges and universities.As the South has always been known to produce the largest percentages of soldiers, sailors and marines to serve their country,in times of war and peace,this 'consolidation' of 'isolated'schools could very well mean the loss of many fine future officers who want to make the military their career. It could also deprive your child of a badly needed scholarship to other universities, especially if you cannot afford the tens of thousands of dollars which higher education costs today.I would point this out to the Judge and the State Board of Education and your state and federal representatives. I doubt any of these would want to be responsible for depriving an Arkansas child of an excellent and prosperous future because of lack of a college education or a desired military career.